The present invention relates to electric steam irons, and deals more particularly with an improvement in a steam irons whereby the use of spacer members between stacked elements within the iron starting at the soleplate and preceding upwards causes improved air convection therewithin and protects non-metallic component members of the iron from the adverse affects of heat generated by the soleplate and/or transmitted through the metallic connecting screws.
Irons which are presently known require a base steam rate of between 10-20 grams per minute for primary steam generation. For irons which provide a surge function, such systems further must simultaneously support a surge steam rate on the order of 35 grams per minute at a 1200 watt rating. As such, it should be appreciated that the heat generated by the heating element within the sole plate of the iron is intense.
The sole plate of the iron contains the heating element made from a metallic material which is capable of being heated to and withstanding great temperatures. However, other parts of the iron, such as the housing and/or water tank are disposed directly above the heating element, and are not as heat resistant, if at all, to the heat generated by the heating element and therefore must be protected against melting. Additionally, these plastic parts are connected to the base sole plate through elongate metal fasteners or screws. Since the screw head positively engages the plastic parts to effect clamping, it is further necessary to insure that the heat transmitted through the shank of the fastener and about the head of the fastener remains isolated from the plastic material against which it is being maintained. Additionally, it is desirable to provide spacing between the major component parts of the iron which would allow for air convection, and hence cooling to occur between the stacked parts of the iron. This in turn makes the upper part of the iron, specifically, that which is adapted to be held by the user, cooler to hold.
Attempts have been made to isolate non-metal parts of an iron from the heated soleplate. One such attempt is disclosed in Japanese publication No. 404005997 A published on Jan. 9, 1992. However, the iron disclosed in this publication does not employ spacers to effect air convection between plural stacked elements of the iron. The disclosed iron uses no intermediate member, such as a skirt, which would otherwise rest on top of the heated soleplate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an iron of the aforementioned type which connects metallic and non-metallic parts to one another in a plural stacked spaced apart arrangement to effect air convection through gaps between the component parts of the iron.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an iron of the aforementioned type wherein successively stacked parts are spaced from one another using a spacer to effect assembly of the iron without the undesirable transmission of heat from metallic heat generating parts to the heat sensitive plastic parts.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an iron of the aforementioned type wherein a plurality of spacers are used to connect successively stacked parts with one another with each spacer being inserted with the component parts of the iron prior to assembly.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an iron of the aforementioned type wherein axially paired low thermal conducting spacers are used to connect non-metallic parts to one another.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.